Mental health resources are now available to home schoolers! Open Parachute was initially developed for use in schools, but they partnered with AISCA and home schooling stakeholders (including WISDOM) to create a format that puts parents totally in the driver's seat for their children. You create an account and choose which modules to have your child work through.
Click here to read what home schooling parents have to say about Open Parachute.
Watch the introductory video below, then select 'registration for home education families' and follow the prompts.
Registration for Home Education Families
For a longer introduction, check out this 30 minute information session from AISCA:
Registration for Home Education Families
WISDOM's office staff pause at 3pm each day to lift up our families' needs in prayer. Join us in praying for our families, staff, facilitators, and other intentions. You can find our current calendar of intentions, provided by the Parent Advisory Council, below.
By registering my child and/or myself for this workshop, I hereby consent to having photographs taken of my child and/or myself during this workshop. I acknowledge that these photographs may be used as a teaching tool in future workshops, or may be used for promoting future workshops. I authorize their use and reproduction without compensation.
Etiquette Guidelines
All students are asked to abide by the following guidelines and common courtesies. Your agreement to these guidelines each term is required in order for you to continue taking any WISDOM online courses. Mutual trust and integrity help to make an excellent learning environment. We want all of our students to have a fruitful and enjoyable experience.
- Always treat fellow participants with respect and courtesy.
- Appropriate language and behaviour is expected at all times.
- Arrive on time, having done your reading or assignment. If you are unable to complete your reading or assignment, please let your tutor know in advance via e-mail. Extensions on written assignment deadlines must be pre-arranged with your tutor.
- Let the tutor know in advance if you will be missing a class. It is your responsibility to obtain your next assignment. Please be sure to request your assignment from your tutor in enough time to complete it before your next class.
- While the class is in session, please do not use the chat box for distracting conversation. Chat box text should pertain to the discussion at hand. Much of the time, students are welcome to visit each other just before class begins or for a short time after class ends. (In some cases this is not possible due to close scheduling of courses.)
- Please do not enter the classroom more than 10 minutes prior to class or leave more than 10 minutes after class finishes. Classes are scheduled close together and new sessions may be starting up immediately after your class finishes.
- Permission is needed from the program manager in order to use the classroom outside of course sessions.
- Parents and students should be aware of Internet dangers and concerns. Please read the email referring to Internet safety and security. When in the classroom, do not surf the net. Do not refer other students to outside websites. Instant messaging/private messaging is not allowed during class time.
- Regarding Online Writing courses: Every paper or report submitted must be the student’s own work. Wording should be the student’s own. Quotes, lectures, Internet sources, books, articles, other writer’s phrases or sentences must be “sourced” or stated. Assignments must be remitted on time. Late assignments will not be graded unless the tutor has authorized a deadline extension.
- Do not give out other students’ email addresses out to anyone.
- If you are experiencing any technical difficulties with the classroom, please contact the online program administrator.
- If you have any concerns regarding behaviour in the class, please contact the online program administrator.
Students who do not comply will be given one warning by the tutor and will be given opportunity to correct their behaviour. Second infractions can result in the student being asked to leave the course.
Nicole Noster
Online Program Manager
WISDOM Home Schooling
780-549-4008 nicole@wisdomhomeschooling.com
Effective entrance exams and assessments designed specifically with home education in mind.
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is a post-secondary entrance exam, created as an alternative to the SAT and recognized at many post-secondary institutions across the United States, and a growing number in Canada.
In addition to the college entrance exam, the folks at CLT have created the CLT3-8 assessments for grades 3 through 8 and the CLT10, a college preparatory exam for grades 9 and 10. These tests focus on numeracy and literacy, and can be a useful evaluation tool, and one that can be conveniently accessed from home.
WISDOM only charges a processing fee of $10 for each CLT exam a WISDOM student takes.
Better tests, better students
The CLT exams are user-friendly and provide a rigorous measure of academic formation, accomplishment, and potential. CLT provides a new standard that puts students in front of the thinkers and questions that have most meaningfully shaped culture.
- Take the test from the comfort and safety of your home
- Provides parents with a worthwhile teaching resource
- Assesses both aptitude and achievement
- Delivers more rigorous content than other standardized tests
- Utilizes meaningful and timeless primary sources
- Promotes critical thinking and higher-level analysis
- Exams take approximately 2 hours to complete
- Exams assess English, mathematical, and critical reasoning skills
- Millions in scholarship dollars available with CLT partner colleges
Assessments worthy of a student's time and attention
The CLT Suite of Assessments are the only exams that are taken at home, online, and designed with homeschoolers in mind. They are user-friendly and accurate—not only can they be taken online at home and completed in two hours, they also provide a rigorous measure of academic formation, accomplishment, and potential. CLT provides a new standard that puts students in front of the thinkers and questions that have most meaningfully shaped culture. In addition, a student's overall score on the CLT is calculated based on the total number of questions answered correctly. No points are deducted for incorrect answers.
Accepted at 250+ partner colleges
CLT is partnered with over 250 colleges and universities, including Trinity Western University, Redeemer University College, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College, Catholic Pacific College, Wyoming Catholic College, Thomas Aquinas College, and many more. Plus, with CLT's unlimited free score sharing, students can share their score with any college and university in the world.
CLT & CLT10 Practice Tests
CLT offers free practice tests that can help students better prepare to take the real CLT exam. The benefits of practice tests include:
- Online Tests – Take the practice test using the same experience and content structure used for the CLT and CLT10.
- Immediate Results – View your practice test score as well as the results for each question.
- Answer Explanations – Review the explanation for each practice question to improve your performance.
Lock Down Browsers
To protect the integrity of the CLT and CLT10 and ensure a fair testing experience for all students, CLT utilizes a secure LockDown browser. The LockDown browser is required for the remotely proctored CLT and the remotely proctored CLT10.
To learn more about CLT's LockDown Browser and how to install it, click here.
This simple tool will help prevent cheating and ensure that every score truly reflects a student’s own ability. It’s an important step in maintaining the high standards that make the CLT and CLT10 trusted, respected assessments—while still keeping things smooth and stress-free for schools and families.
CLT FAQs
Why Another Exam?
Classic Learning Test was formed in 2015 when their founder, Jeremy Tate, began to question why students needed to spend so much time preparing for a college entrance exam (SAT/ACT) that did not reflect the deep, holistic education they were receiving in homeschool or private schools.
SAT and ACT are both aligned with Common Core and reflect a public school education. The passages used on the exams are from sources primarily written within the last 10 years, removing any vestiges of the Christian intellectual tradition. They do not allow students who have read widely and pursued truth and reason to showcase their real strengths. CLT was birthed out of a desire to provide a test aligned to an education that emphasizes the connection between knowledge and virtue and can highlight the strengths of these students.
What started as a college entrance exam has grown into a suite of assessments for 3rd - 12th graders. The CLT suite of assessments assesses foundational educational concepts in language arts and mathematics with an emphasis on critical thinking and logic throughout the exams. The exams feature Great Books content that is primarily drawn from CLT’s Author Bank.
All CLT assessments can be taken online at home. The CLT3-8 (3rd-8th grade) and the CLT10 (9th-10th grade) are proctored by parents. The CLT (college entrance exam) is remotely proctored to uphold the standards required by college partners. Each exam takes approximately 2 hours.
Why should my family use CLT?
The CLT suite of assessments provides Student Analytics on each exam that can help families strengthen the quality of their education. It’s not about simply improving on a test. The goal is to maximize your student’s education.
Additionally, the CLT suite of assessments provides students with experience taking standardized exams in a familiar environment. The content of the exams is well aligned with your style of education; therefore, the time spent testing is meaningful due to the Great Books content and challenging mathematical reasoning questions. Plus, the feedback provided is well-aligned to the education you are providing your students.
How does CLT offer greater flexibility with testing?
- CLT3-8 are offered during a four-week testing window twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
- The CLT10 is offered four times each year.
- The CLT is offered twelve times per year.
- Students test at their preferred time of day (not all students perform best early in the morning!) Score shares (CLT10 and CLT) are free and unlimited, and students do not opt into sharing scores until they view them. All CLT’s are taken at home. CLT3-8 and CLT10 are parent proctored tests, while CLT is remotely proctored. Please click here for remote proctoring information and preparation guides
When should students test with CLT?
CLT currently has exams for 3rd-12th grade students. Most families test once in the fall to set a baseline for the year and again in the spring to get end-of-year results to assess what their student has accomplished over the year.
Should students prep for the CLT?
An education that emphasizes reading, discussion, mathematics, and critical thinking is the best preparation for the CLT. The CLT is designed to reflect a robust education; however, most homeschooled students are not accustomed to multiple choice or timed tests. Students may feel more confident if they have some experience prior to taking an official exam. For this reason, CLT provides free online practice exams with full answer explanations for CLT10 and CLT on the student dashboard. A CLT Student Guide is available for purchase for those seeking additional practice.
For the CLT3-8 exams (3rd-8th grade), preparation is not recommended as these exams are intended to be a benchmark that provides feedback to parents about their students’ strengths and areas for improvement. Families are welcome to explore the functionality of the exam by viewing the demo CLT3 exam on this page, though students should understand that the content varies in difficulty according to grade level.
Is the CLT accepted by all colleges?
Though the CLT is not accepted by all colleges, over two hundred colleges partner with CLT, accepting the exam as a complete replacement of the ACT or SAT. Additionally, with many colleges going test-optional, even colleges who do not partner with CLT will accept CLT scores.
Sharing your scores is a great way to strengthen your application even if they are not required. CLT Partner Colleges tend to be private, liberal arts, or faith-based colleges which share their mission to reconnect knowledge and virtue in the classroom.
Can I earn scholarships with CLT?
Many colleges offer scholarships tied to CLT scores. You may view a list of scholarship opportunities with CLT Partner Colleges by clicking here.
Should I take the CLT if I have already taken/plan to take the ACT/SAT?
If you are planning to attend a CLT Partner College, sending CLT scores to those colleges demonstrates that you are a student who is well-prepared for their academics. CLT Partner Colleges have noted that CLT students do very well in their classes, so these colleges often respond with excited interest and generous scholarships to CLT scores. Additionally, many homeschooled students find they perform better on the CLT than the ACT/SAT. Even if you are not planning to attend a CLT Partner College, the Student Analytics that accompany each test give invaluable insight into your education, highlighting your strengths and areas for improvement.
What if the college I want to attend does not accept the CLT?
CLT is diligently working to earn greater acceptance, particularly with colleges that value a liberal arts education. They add new colleges to our partner list routinely, but the most effective way of adding new partners is for colleges to hear from students they want to use their CLT scores.
If you're interested in applying to a college that isn't currently a CLT Partner, don't be discouraged. Call the college or university of interest and ask to speak with an admissions representative. Explain what CLT is, why you want to use CLT in the admissions process, and why they should consider your scores. You can share that the CLT best reflects your education and demonstrates your academic excellence. This is a great way to connect with a college and to help CLT gain wider recognition. There have been many cases where these kinds of conversations have led to a new CLT college partnership.
Are there testing accommodations available for CLT?
Yes, Students with documented learning disabilities may apply for testing accommodations. Testing accommodations are adaptations to an exam that can help ensure that the test measures what it is designed to measure, rather than the negative effects of a person’s disability. The purpose of testing accommodations is to provide candidates with full access to the test – not to guarantee improved performance, a passing score, test completion, or any other specific outcome.
Please click here for more information and applications for testing accommodations.
This website was designed and developed by Holds Worth Design. All developed code, graphic design materials, and branding identity produced for this website are the intellectual property of their respective owners. All rights are reserved by Holds Worth Design and WISDOM Home Schooling and by using this website you agree to observe the copyright ownership of these materials. If you have any questions regarding this website or its use, you may contact:
WISDOM Home Schooling
Box 78 Derwent, AB
780-741-2113
History Plus is available at a great discount for WISDOM Families. Please contact the office for more information.
IXL is personalized learning with a comprehensive curriculum for junior kindergarten to grade 12 in Math and English. Find out more at ca.ixl.com. WISDOM's discounted rate is $20 per license per year, renewing September 1. Purchase your license in the WISDOM web shop.
Learn basic coding concepts, explore infinite worlds and build everything from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles. Learn more at education.minecraft.net. WISDOM's discounted price is $10 per child per year, renewing September 1. Purchase your license in the WISDOM web shop.
Resources
Alberta Schools Athletic Association (ASAA) is the governing body that oversees amateur athletics in high schools for the province of Alberta. Through ASAA, WISDOM high school students may be eligible to join local high school sports teams or compete in track and field and wrestling, etc. Email Jennifer to find out more.
Facebook – WISDOM has a number of private Facebook groups for our families. (When you click join to any of these pages, please answer the verification questions.) Email terry@wisdomhomeschooling. com for more information.
- WISDOM Home Schooling - main group with the most members and discussion.
- WISDOM Home Schooling – High School & Beyond - Home schooling through high school support and inspiration
- WISDOM Support Group: Learning Challenges - A place to ask questions, find solutions, and to network with other parents of neuro-diverse learners.
- WISDOM Home Schooling Buy/Sell/Swap - This is a page where parents can sell, buy or swap new or used curriculum
LearnAlberta.ca is an Alberta Education resource which is available to WISDOM families. Various education and teaching resources are available on this website. Email the Office to get access.
Microsoft 365 (formerly called Microsoft Office) – Collaborate for free with online versions of Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. Save documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online. The WISDOM price? FREE. Email Jennifer to sign up.
Pen Pal Club – To join the Club, please have your child send a short letter of introduction (like those posted in the WISDOM Family Magazine) to the WISDOM Office, along with a note giving parental permission. Email Janice or mail WISDOM a letter. Once WISDOM has parental permission, your letter will be printed in the next WISDOM magazine. Any WISDOM student that wants to write your child will mail the initial letter to the WISDOM Office and the Office will mail the letter to your child. Once your child receives your letter, then the Pen Pal Exchange is complete and both students can mail letters back and forth as desired.
Prayer List – The WISDOM Office prays for its families every weekday around 3:00 pm. If you have a prayer request for your family or homeschool, please email Terry.
Scholastic Letters may be requested by parents who wish to buy directly from the Scholastic.com book flyers. Contact Terry for more info.
SOLARO is study help and exam prep for grades 3-12 for Alberta. It has all grades and all subjects. WISDOM students can have access to 10 subjects at a time.
Click here for more information and to order.
Student & Parent / Teacher ID – WISDOM offers this resource for free to our families. There is a digital and paper version. Email Jennifer for more information.
SuccessMaker - for Grades K-8 reading and math. It does it all to make every student more successful. This is “true” adaptive learning for intervention, differentiation, and personalization. Every student interaction adjusts instruction in real time to real learning needs. SuccessMaker® delivers tutorials, practice, challenge, and remediation. WISDOM price: $75 per student. Order in our online shop.
Terry’s TLC Newsletter has a variety of links and monthly offers for WISDOM Families. It includes WISDOM Mail Exchange Updates, Current Draw information for WISDOM parents and students, the best educational links of the month and more. For more information, email Terry.
WISDOM Game Day Events - WISDOM is pleased to offer a virtual opportunity for children, teens and parents to gather together online to play board- and card-games. As always, parents need to supervise their children when they are online. For more information, see the WISDOM Website under Events.
WISDOM Kindergarten Connections is a brand new short monthly email for any WISDOM parent who has a child in Preschool or Kindergarten. It will have easy learning tips, giveaways and contests, Busy Bag ideas, as well as links of encouragement, ideas and support. For more information, email Terry.
WISDOM’s eNewsletter goes out to WISDOM Families once a month or more with current information on events, deadlines or other offerings. Not sure you’re getting them? Check your Spam folder, first, and search your email for anything from office@wisdomhomeschooling.com or tobylauren@wisdomhomeschooling.com. If you are not receiving the emails, email the Office and ask to be added to the eNewsletter list.
WISDOM Events (workshops and gatherings) are an important part of the WISDOM experience for their families. You can register on the WISDOM website or email Marlane for more info.
WISDOM Mail Exchange Events. WISDOM is hosting numerous mail exchanges between WISDOM students and parents – most are for the cost of a postage stamp. Some of the exchanges have been Happy Mail Exchanges, Recipe Exchanges, a Bookmark Exchange, a Seed Packet exchange and more. It is a great way to make connections between students and families! Email Terry for more information.
Study Prep & Evaluation
Canadian Test of Basic Skills - Revised (CTBS-R) measures student achievement and growth in general subject areas for Grades 1 through 12. Results offer grade-level average, national percentile and stanine. WISDOM offers this resource for families for $10 fee. You may order it every year or as desired. Contact Peter for more information.
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is a post-secondary entrance exam, created as an alternative to the SAT. In addition, there is a CLT 8 for students in grade 8 or 9, and the CLT 10 for students in grades 10 or 11. These tests focus on numeracy and literacy, and are a useful evaluation tool which can be conveniently accessed from home. The CLT is accepted as a high school completion exam for entrance to a number of universities and colleges, many of whom offer scholarships to these students. WISDOM families receive a discount on all CLTs. Find out more here and view test dates and register for CLT tests here.
ExamBank.com is a resource for Alberta students in all grades. It offers online study resources and practice exams related directly to the Alberta curriculum. Call or email the Office to receive a username and password.
QuestA+ is an online access point for provincial assessment. It has access to field tests, diploma exams, provincial achievement tests and other secure assessment. Any WISDOM parent can access it.
Key Study Guide and SNAP Booklets (through Castlerock) are Alberta curriculum-specific resources that helps students prepare for their school tests, final exams, and standardized assessments.
THE KEY is comprised of three main components: Unit Review, Unit Test, and Exam Preparation.
SNAP Workbooks provide complete explanations of curriculum concepts. Examples are designed to take students from guided learning to independent practice. Parents can assign the even-numbered problems for each topic as additional homework as their answers and solutions are not included in the SNAP Workbook.
WISDOM Parents can order each booklet for each subject for a discounted price of $25 each. Castle Rock has made a custom WISDOM order page for their resources.
- Open the order form: Order Here
- Input the amount of each resource you want
- Hit the checkout button at the bottom
- At checkout, fill out the information. In the PO Number: box, follow instructions below:
- For a WISDOM PO Number: Put “WISDOM” to use a funding purchase order (if funding is available)
- Put “Bill To Family” to be billed by them (you’ll be able to submit your receipt for reimbursement)
- Double check all information is correct
- Hit the submit button and the order is now placed!
Email Christian for more information.
The F.O.R.M. Curriculum is a fitness curriculum for teaching students how to build a solid foundation in health.
Functional Fitness
Optimal Nourishment
Rest and Recovery
Multiplied Maintenance
Are you aware of another resource that is missing from this list?
Please email Terry or give us a call.
Your agreement is required upon registration for the workshop. By agreeing to the Terms and Conditions for the workshop, you agree to uphold the following guidelines.
These guidelines are intended to create mutual trust and integrity to cultivate an excellent learning environment.
- Always treat fellow participants and your tutor with respect and courtesy.
- Appropriate language and behaviour is expected at all times.
- Arrive on time, having done your assignment.
- While the class is in session, please do not use the chat box for distracting conversation. Chat box text should pertain to the discussion at hand.
- Parents and students should be aware of Internet dangers and concerns. Please be mindful of the need for good security and wise Internet use. When in the classroom, do not surf the net. Do not refer other students to outside websites. Instant messaging/private messaging is not allowed during class time.
- Do not give other students’ email addresses out to anyone. With parental permission, students are allowed to share their own emails with other students at an appropriate time specified by your tutor.
- Every paper or report submitted must be the student’s own work. Wording should be the student’s own. Quotes from lectures, Internet sources, books, articles, and other writers’ phrases or sentences must be “sourced” or stated. Plagiarism is a serious offense; it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of what plagiarism is and to avoid it. If a student plagiarizes, they will be given a single warning and will need to meet certain requirements given by the tutor (e.g. submitting work in progress, etc.). A second instance of plagiarism will result in the student being removed from the workshop.
- Assignments must be remitted on time. A tutor reserves the right to not grade a late assignment unless the student has received prior authorization from the tutor for a deadline extension.
- Content should be of a quality that does not glorify violence, gore, the occult (including possession and spells), or any imagery or presentation that diminishes the dignity of the human person. Good writing does not rely on explicit depictions of tasteless or immoral content. In striving to imitate the great classical writers, students will strive toward high standards and wholesomeness.
- Improper language, swearing, or words that insult human dignity will not be accepted in any WISDOM writing workshop.
- Students will be required to follow specific formatting requirements for their assignments as detailed by the tutor.
- Tutors may refuse evaluation, grading, or guidance when presented with writing that does not meet WISDOM criteria.
- If you have any concerns regarding behaviour in the workshop, please contact Nicole Noster at: 780-549-4008 or email: nicole@wisdomhomeschooling.com.
- Students who do not comply will be given one warning by the tutor and will be given opportunity to correct their behaviour. Second infractions can result in the student being asked to leave the workshop.
If you have further questions after reading through these, don’t hesitate to join an information session, call the WISDOM Office at 780-741-2113, or use the chat function below.
Q. What is Home Schooling?
Q. What is (Parent-Delivered) Home Schooling? (What are the different types of home schooling?)
Q. Why do families home school?
Q. Are parents qualified to teach their children?
Q. Is home schooling legal?
Q. How much time does it take?
Q. How can we teach several children at once?
Q. What about socialization?
Q. What about my child's special interests?
Q. Can Home Schoolers get a high school diploma and attend university or college?
Q. What materials are available?
Q. What methods should I use?
Q. What about children with special needs?
Q. How does WISDOM receive, divide - and use - educational funding grants?
Q. How do we get started home schooling?
Parent Portal Questions
The following questions will take you to a page just for questions about the Parent Portal.
Q. Are we obligated to create and use this portal for our family? I prefer to keep my personal info out of 'clouds' and other servers.
Q. How will I access student information?
Q. Does this give AB Education access to our Education Program Plans (EPPs)?
Q. Which option we pick for the declaration of outcomes?
Q. We will not be returning to WISDOM Home Schooling (The Gilbertine Academy S2338) for this coming school year. Do we still need an account?
A. With parenthood comes the responsibility of educating our children. We begin teaching from the very first day, helping our children to find security in us; and then throughout their early years teaching them to walk, speak, feed themselves, toilet train, along with the myriad of life skills a young child comes to know. Reading, writing, numbers, science, and social studies are no harder to teach, and up until the last century, the home was the environment where these skills were taught. Schools as we know them were established primarily out of charity toward the children of illiterate parents. The methods employed in teaching children at home differ substantially from those required in a classroom and generally tend to be more informal and open-ended. Rather than organizing their time around managing a classroom, home schoolers focus upon individual student strengths and weaknesses and organize each day around making the most of the learning opportunities at hand. Home schooling is not merely school at home; it is a way of life.
Q. What is (Parent-Delivered) Home Schooling? (What are the different types of home schooling?)
A. The term used by the Alberta Department of Education to describe traditional home schooling is “Home Education.” Parents who “home educate” retain full authority to plan and provide schooling to their children. Parents have the right to teach according to their faith, goals, and time-lines; free to follow their vision rather than the vision of someone outside of their home.
In a “Shared Responsibility" program, the parents teach part of the program, and a school teaches the remainder. On-line schooling is considered a school-delivered program, with the school taking responsibility for the content, scheduling, and grading of the student. Fully school-delivered programs generate full funding for the associate board, and the parents have little to no input into what is being taught.
WISDOM has seen the success that results from full parental control of home schooling and affirms the parents' right to teach their own children. Unfortunately, parents often lose confidence in their own abilities once they have deferred to a school to provide the at-home education to their children. Many students in school-delivered at-home programs find themselves back in school within a few years. This contributes to WISDOM's decision to support only Traditional home schooling; properly speaking: only “Home Education.” We will work with you to meet your goals and fulfill your regulatory responsibility. We will assist you with program choices and other important education decisions, but we maintain that you are the primary educator, and you call the shots for your children.
For more information about different types of learning at home, such as Shared Responsibility or School-Delivered/Aligned, please click here.
Q. Why do families home school?
A. Parents make the decision not to delegate the education of their children to others but rather commit the time and energy themselves. Families have a variety of reasons for home schooling. WISDOM's founders began because they wanted to integrate their children's overall character and moral development with their education, realizing that "if their prayer life and the study of faith was not in order, education became fruitless.” Many parents who begin to home school for purely academic reasons soon find themselves growing in other areas as well. Relational problems that are less visible to parents when their children are away all day become far more evident when the family lives in close proximity day in and day out. In a homeschooling setting, parents more effectively identify and deal with these formerly obscured issues. Although family life seems more demanding in the short term, home education leads to strong relationships and renewed capacity for learning. Approaches to academics vary, but most home schooling families tend to emphasize a good, wholesome life, growing in respect for one another.
- There is opportunity to centre the daily schedule around prayer/meditation and faith study, rather than these becoming relegated to "when there's time".
- Each student's curriculum can be custom designed.
- Parents may conscientiously choose social activities.
- Parents can build in time to think, plan, explore, question; all within a safe environment.
- Schooling can be scheduled around the parent's work, family responsibilities, etc.
- Schooling can be designed to fit the learning and teaching styles of the family, some structured, some flexible, all unique to some degree.
- Communication between family members is enhanced.
- Tutorial-style education helps each child achieve their full potential.
Q. Are parents qualified to teach their children?
A. An important difference between you and a classroom teacher is the love you have for your child and the fact that your educational commitment is not one academic year, but a lifetime. These two points give you a distinct advantage, though it sometimes takes a bit of adjustment before you can make the most of this advantage. Confidence grows with experience, but a cooperative school board can shorten the time it takes to gain your feet. Research has proven that the academic achievement of parents has no bearing upon the success achieved by their home schooled children. If you can read and write, you can teach your children as effectively as can the parent with a PhD in Education. Research demonstrates that a child's academic potential is governed by factors other than the educational level of his parents. A loving parent is the nurturing ingredient that will bring a child to full potential.
Dr. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, has conducted numerous studies on the effectiveness of home schooling, demonstrating that the average home school student's academic achievement was very high. Dr. Ray says, "The tutorial method has always been the superior method for education of children. Home schooling epitomizes this method, providing the essentials for success--a close relationship between the student and teacher, motivation, flexibility, and individualization."
Several resources are available to give you the preparation and training you need:
- The Successful Homeschool Handbook, Home Grown Kids, and Better Late Than Early, by Raymond and Dorothy Moore
- The Three R's by Ruth Beechick
- How to Home School by Gayle Graham
- Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson
- Speak to at least one veteran home schooler (try the WISDOM Parent Advisory Council, if you don't know anyone who home schools).
- Home school conventions, workshops, and curriculum fairs provide practical instruction in teaching techniques unique to home instruction.
- Support groups can greatly encourage and help you through the exchange of ideas. (From the founder: "Personally, in the early years, I derived my greatest benefit by having other adults whose judgement I trusted, experience the progress my children were making. Their perspective was extremely valuable at times when I was too close to perceive how much my children had actually improved.")
A. Each province and state sets its own laws governing home education. In Alberta, if parents intend to home educate, they must notify their own resident school board, or an associate board or associate private school.
WISDOM Home Schooling is the home education department of The Gilbertine Academy, which is operated by The Gilbertine Institute, Calgary, and is operated by professionals who are personally experienced in home education. WISDOM complies with the regulations of the Education Act while helping to make home schooling easier for parents and more effective. Accountability serves to keep us organized. Look for an associate board or associate private school that has understanding and experienced staff, who can look at your family from a personal perspective.
A few home education administrations in Alberta make a point of hiring home educating facilitators and/or staff. WISDOM makes it our policy. All of our facilitators, and full time office staff, were either home educated themselves or are home educating parents.
Legislation is continually being reviewed in each province, making it important for you to work with home school organizations, especially the Alberta Home Education Association and others like it to aid the passage of favourable legislation. Constitutional rights to liberty and privacy and the free exercise of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee parental rights to educate their children according to their convictions. However, school boards have ruled inconsistently in applying these rights to home education. WISDOM helps families comply with the law without compromising integrity as parents and educators. It is important to obtain a copy of the Alberta Home Education Regulation. Many problems can be avoided by being accurately informed and by using tact and respect in dealing with authorities, or other people who don't understand home education. Consider joining the Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada. They are an excellent ally in the effort to maintain parental rights.
Q. How much time does it take?
A. Although teaching your own children does require a time commitment, it isn't as demanding as you might expect. You can achieve a great deal more in far less time than required in an institutional setting. The time required will depend upon the approach you take and the resources you use, but you will likely begin with a half to one hour, per day, for the early grades, three hours by junior high, and older children, mostly working independently, will spend up to six hours through high school. Mature students usually study music, perhaps work part-time, often read more than average and spend time preparing for post-secondary work or study. Be aware that, if you are taking more time than seems necessary, you may have imported "school" into your home. Due to the number of students in a classroom, schools attempt to teach by the use of packaged tasks or "curriculum." Fortunately, children learn more and faster if they are allowed to function in the practical world rather than just studying about it in a textbook. Parents will find that capitalizing on informal teachable moments throughout the day will allow them to avoid lenthy formal study times, especially for younger child. Above all, a balance of practical activity and good reading material forms the heart of an effective education.
Q. How can we teach several children at once?
A. Many subjects can be taught to various levels at once, demanding more complex thinking, more lucid expression, and more effective writing of the older children and less of their younger siblings. Older and younger children can gain much by learning together for the good of all (consider the excellent education received by students in one-room schoolhouses, where the more mature thought processes of older students then benefit younger students who are listening). Children who are close in age can do much of their work together. Many families find it helpful create opportunities for independent learning (reading, research, videos, crafts, worksheets, etc) for their children, and then spending focussed time with direct instruction of one child at a time.
A. Once you have home schooled a year or two you will look back at this question and say, "what was all the fuss about socialization?" Because most children in western culture spend most of their time among same-age peers, we have come to assume that this is normal. Have you ever wondered why the Creator put children in families where nobody (unless you are a multiple) is your age? The best environment within which to grow socially is a multi-age group. There is significant benefit to maturing in an environment where you must interact daily with those older and younger than you; responsible for the good of each other and learning from others at the same time (this includes the parents). Healthy relationships are best taught, demonstrated, and reinforced at home and in service to others as family outreach. As you get to know other home schoolers you will be impressed at the responsibility these children bring to their relationships. Their well-mannered confidence is a tribute to the environment their parents create. One of the greatest dangers to our children is peer dependency. It is only after years of careful formation that our children can be a testimony to others without being negatively influenced by them. The home is the environment for this careful formation. A recent US study has verified that the self-concept of home schooled children is significantly more positive than average. These young people know who they are.
Q. What about my child's special interests?
A. A wealth of experiences outside the home can supplement and enrich home education. Field trips organized by your family or in cooperation with one or more other families offer excellent opportunities to share fellowship and learning. The classroom of the world around you is the one that can teach you the most. Books are an excellent means of learning about those things the student can't access personally but, where possible, home schooling parents can immerse their children in the practical aspects of life, from pond life, to museums, to doing laundry and dishes. The internet provides a plethora of learning opportunities and resources. Other interests such as musical training and amateur sports tend to fit well in a home education schedule.
Q. Can Home Schoolers get a high school diploma and attend university or college?
A. In the USA, more than 200 institutions welcome home-educated students, not based upon official academic records, but rather upon individual merit. They are assisted by the track record established by previous home schooled students, who tend to be mature and capable of thinking for themselves, proving to be independent workers who set their own goals and schedules. Many prestigious universities (including Yale) encourage home schoolers to apply and offer admission based upon an entrance exam.
In Alberta, home schooled students may earn high school credits and graduate with an Alberta Diploma. Conversely, they can set their own criteria for graduation and finish with a WISDOM Parent Authorized Diploma. There are different entrance requirements for various post-secondary institutions, but all are attainable through home schooling. All universities and colleges (even the ones who have no policy for home schoolers) have a "special admissions" option that looks at the individual merit of an applicant and can admit anyone who can demonstrate ability. For some situations the SAT can be used for college or university entrance. Read: Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax. The parents did not attempt to follow a typical school curriculum, and their 3 oldest sons entered Harvard. The children enjoyed a blend of wilderness subsistence farming and good books. Also be sure to ask the WISDOM Office for a copy of our High School Information Book.
Q. What materials are available?
A. Many common textbooks are available from curriculum publishers and from other sources, offering depth and a logical order of topics. Work texts combine textbook information with exercises in consumable write-in books. Unit Studies allow a parent to integrate the teaching of values, skills, Science, and Social Studies... by following specific themes. Using a Classical Approach, children progress from memory and skills to advanced reasoning and expressive use of language. When applying the Principle Approach teachers and students keep notebooks containing Bible perspectives and principles, personal applications, and other specific information on the subject. Whatever the approach, don't forget the extreme value of good reading material & real life experiences. Once a student has learned the basics of language and numbers, abundant learning comes through reading good literature and engaging in good discussions. Remember to use those normal everyday activities like laundry, chores, music, and dishes to teach skills and character development; and great books combined with probing discussion to teach thinking.
A. Your first year will require a calculated guess. Many parents choose to simply use what their home schooling friends are using. You may not be in a position to make curriculum choices until you have actually worked with each child to discover learning style, strengths, and weaknesses, interests, and abilities. You will also discover your own teaching style, the demands upon your time, priorities, etc. Whenever possible, you will take time in your first year to talk to other home schoolers and look at resources. By the time you begin your second year, you will be more confident to make many of your schooling decisions. Don't forget to keep researching different methods of education.
Q. What about neuro-diverse children with special learning needs?
A. Neuro-diverse (ADHD, dyslexic, Asperger or Autism-spectrum, anxiety, Tourette's syndrome, and gifted) children are particularly well-served by home schooling by working at their own pace with material that is suited to their individual needs. Learning is best served in an environment where the student has a strong relationship with the teacher, and nowhere can this be achieved as effectively as within the context of the family. Consistency and discipline are the key strengths in special needs home education. Dr. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, affirms, "Research comparing home educated to public school learning disabled students found higher rates of academic engaged time, and greater academic gains were made by the home educated. ... parents, even without special education training, provided powerful instructional environments at home...." WISDOM offers parent training for teaching neuro-diverse students. (See more here.)
Q. How does WISDOM receive, divide - and use - educational funding grants?
A. For each student whose parent has given notification by September 30, we (Gilbertine Institute) receive a total grant of $1802. The parent may fund learning resources by claiming up to 50% of the total of the funds ($901), per student, per year. Alberta Education allocates the funding to the school authority at a rate of 10% per month from September through June. We make half available to parents in Fall and half in Spring. The student support portion of the funding covers facilitator and staff salaries and operational costs, as well as subsidizes additional services and supports that WISDOM provides to families.
Some families choose to not access funding, and some families choose to allocate their unclaimed funds to The Gilbertine Institute for use in the WISDOM department for family support. These families help us provide for unfunded 'rescue' families who join us throughout the school year, as well as contribute toward extra help for special needs consultation, tutoring, and family counselling.
Q. How do we get started home schooling?
A. Pray (or discern in your own way), and, if you have a spouse, agree together as team on your decision to home school. Then, set long term goals for your children, writing down what you ultimately want for them. Once you have done this you will have accomplished the most important foundational task for your home school. From there, you can work backward from these goals to decide how to structure your time and tasks right now. Above all, start simply, and avoid trying to create a typical school in your home. This isn't "school at home". This is working toward providing the best possible education for your child.